George Thorne shocks West Brom by telling them he wants to join Derby

Rising star George Thorne has stunned West Brom by trying to engineer a move to Championship side Derby.

The 21-year-old is seen as a prized asset by the Hawthorns and his loan move to Pride Park last season was only supposed to provide him with valuable Championship experience.

However, Thorne was an instant hit after joining Steve McLaren’s men, playing a starring role in a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on his debut and playing a pivotal role in the Rams’ run to the play-off final.

Derby have already put in a £950,000 bid for Thorne but were told he was not for sale.

If, as expected, Tim Sherwood is named as West Brom manager his first job will be to deal with the unhappy Thorne, who has handed in an official transfer request.

Thorne was the youngest player to represent the Baggies in a competitive match for more than 50 years when he was still 16 back in 2009 but has grown frustrated at his lack of opportunities since then.

Despite representing England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level he has made just ten appearances for West Brom and been farmed out on loan to Portsmouth, Peterborough and Watford.

The Baggies’ new technical director Terry Burton this week insisted the club had no intention of selling Thorne and has told Derby he is not for sale – but that stance has gone down badly with the player.